Würzburger Kickers vs Nurnberg
FreeWe’re always looking for new recruits to help us so please click here if you want to find out more about the ways you can help us (e.g. local input, watching games)!
There are 14 bankers and 10 value tips in the Members Section today so feel free to sign up here to see them + team news!
Today’s free tip is in the German Bundesliga 2 encounter between Wurzburger Kickers and Nurnberg.
Pleasingly, Kickers picked up a good win in Hannover mid-week. It was an awful game that I hope to never see the likes of again, but Hannover 96 were shambolic enough on the night to give a sloppy goal away, which made it 2-1 to Kickers, and they picked up a potentially invaluable three points whilst also putting the shits up Sandhausen, Braunschweig, and Osnabruck ahead of them. They looked dead and buried before that, but now? I wouldn’t bet against them beating the drop.
They shouldn’t be in the equation, Kickers, but it’s testament to their mental strength that they are. They made some good signings in 2021, none of which have really settled yet, although Hasek and van la Parra have shown promising signs of late. I should exclude Feltscher from that equation, actually – he’s really sorted out their back four since joining, even if that doesn’t make them keep many clean sheets. The Venezuelan is not a miracle worker, after all!
Mostly, it’s about togetherness at Kickers. They work hard, they want it more than most, and for a change, they got the breaks mid-week. I don’t think they played any better in that game than they did in Sandhausen last weekend, for what it’s worth. In fact, I think they played better in Sandhausen – and lost. It’ll be interesting to see where this luck and momentum takes them because they do have another level to go to, especially if Hasek and van la Parra can continue settling in well. They’ll be even better if Maierhofer can get into the team because he’s still a monster in the air. I’m not prepared to stick my neck on the chopping block here, but Kickers have given themselves a better chance of avoiding relegation than they’ve had for months.
A good factor today is that they’re hosting Nurnberg, who are known in the Bundesliga 2 for playing lazily. Nurnberg are comfortably the better team but seldom want to show it, which is why they’re in the relegation battle. With a squad like theirs, they should be gunning for promotion, not battling against the drop, but this just goes to show the value of work-rate at this level, of which Nurnberg have little. The true embarrassment for them is that their most mobile, industrious player is ageing striker Schaffler, whom they only signed from Wehen Wiesbaden pre-season.
The real stickler for Nurnberg today is that they’re missing players. Too many players, actually. They’ve had injury problems for a while now, perfectly epitomised by Lohkemper finally returning from injury a few weeks back before immediately getting injured again, now likely to miss the rest of the campaign. Now they’re without key creator Hack again, and have two huge question marks over the fitness of midfielders Nurnberger and Geis, both of which are two of their other few grafters. If they’re missing one or both of them, I think they’re in real trouble against such a spirited opponent.
Again, Nurnberg are comfortably the better team here; the bookies are 100% correct to make them as stone cold favourites as they are. The absentees, lack of tenacity, and general team news is not positive for the visitors though – and their hosts look in a good place right now. Therefore, I’m going to back Kickers to get something from this game at 4/5.
Verdict: Wurzburger Kickers to win with a +0.5 Asian Handicap at 4/5.
Sunday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Australian A-League:
Wellington Phoenix vs Western United
Austrian Bundesliga:
LASK vs Wolfsberger AC
Sturm Graz vs Swarovski Tirol
Rapid Vienna vs Salzburg
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Racing Genk vs Sint-Truiden
Waasland-Beveren vs Kortrijk
RSC Anderlecht vs Club Brugge
Germinal Beerschot vs KV Oostende
Bulgarian A PFG:
Cherno More Varna vs Levski Sofia
Croatian Prva Liga:
Slaven Koprivnica vs NK Osijek
Istra 1961 vs Hajduk Split
Lokomotiva Zagreb vs Dinamo Zagreb
Czechia Liga 1:
Ceske Budejovice vs Zbrojovka Brno
Teplice vs Mlada Boleslav
Slavia Prague vs Sparta Prague
Danish Superligaen:
Randers vs FC Nordsjaelland
Brondby vs FC Copenhagen
AGF vs FC Midtjylland
SonderjyskE vs AC Horsens
English Premier League:
Burnley vs Newcastle United
West Ham United vs Leicester City
Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United
Sheffield United vs Arsenal
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Vaprus vs Tammeka
Trans Narva vs Tulevik
Nomme Kalju vs FCI Levadia Tallinn
Legion vs Flora Tallinn
Faroese Betrideildin:
HB Torshavn vs 07 Vestur Sorvagur
KI vs EB/Streymur
B36 Torshavn vs Vikingur Gota
B68 Toftir vs TB
IF vs NSI Runavik
French Ligue 1:
Stade Rennais vs FC Nantes Atlantique
Stade Brestois vs Nimes Olympique
Racing Club Lens vs Lorient
OGC Nice vs Stade de Reims
AS Saint-Etienne vs Girondins de Bordeaux
AS Monaco vs Dijon FCO
Olympique Lyonnais vs Angers SCO
German Bundesliga:
Schalke 04 vs Augsburg
Koln vs Mainz 05
German Bundesliga 2:
Hannover 96 vs Heidenheim
VfL Osnabruck vs Eintracht Braunschweig
Würzburger Kickers vs Nurnberg
Hungarian Liga 1:
Diosgyori VTK vs Paksi SE
Zalaegerszegi TE vs Budapest Honved
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Maccabi Petah Tikva
Hapoel Kfar Saba vs Hapoel Hadera
Italian Serie A:
Internazionale vs Cagliari
Juventus vs Genoa
Hellas Verona vs SS Lazio
Sampdoria vs SSC Napoli
AS Roma vs Bologna
ACF Fiorentina vs Atalanta Bergamo
Italian Serie B:
Reggina vs Vicenza
Venezia vs Cosenza
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Panevezys vs Hegelmann Litauen
Kauno Zalgiris vs Zalgiris Vilnius
Banga Gargzdai vs Dainava
Dutch Eredivisie:
FC Utrecht vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
FC Groningen vs SC Heerenveen
VVV Venlo vs PSV Eindhoven
RKC Waalwijk vs AFC Ajax Amsterdam
Portuguese Liga 1:
Gil Vicente vs Moreirense
Santa Clara vs CD Nacional de Madeira
Sporting Braga vs Belenenses
Sporting Clube de Portugal vs Famalicao
Portuguese Liga 2:
Estoril vs Vilafranquense
Chaves vs Sporting Covilha
SL Benfica II vs Feirense
Arouca vs UD Oliveirense
Romanian Liga 1:
Universitatea Craiova vs CFR Cluj
Russian Premier League:
Arsenal Tula vs FK Krasnodar
Dinamo Moscow vs Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast
PFC Sochi vs Zenit St. Petersburg
Lokomotiv Moscow vs Spartak Moscow
Spanish Primera Liga:
Villarreal vs CA Osasuna
Valencia vs Real Sociedad
Real Valladolid vs Granada
Real Betis Balompie vs Atletico Madrid
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Halmstad vs BK Hacken Goteborg
Mjallby Solvesborg vs Varberg
Elfsborg Boras vs Djurgarden
IFK Norrkoping vs Sirius
Swiss Super League:
Vaduz vs FC Sion
Young Boys Bern vs St. Gallen
FC Zurich vs Servette
Turkish Super Lig:
Sivasspor vs Konyaspor
Ankaragucu vs Genclerbirligi
Kayserispor vs Antalyaspor
BB Erzurumspor vs Besiktas JK
Enjoy your free betting tips!